What is an Open Space Technology meeting?

Open Space Technology is a meeting methodology that helps individuals, groups and communities become more effective in environments that are rapidly and constantly changing. It creates the conditions so that the maximum potential of the individual and the group to be realized. Open Space Technology captures the knowledge, experience and innovation in the group that is not captured through less open processes.  Open Space Technology meetings can be held with groups as large as 1000 people or a small as 8.

What are the benefits of using Open Space Technology?

Open Space Technology has many benefits not typically available in other meeting process.  These include:

• Breakthrough learning
• Appropriate structure
• Genuine community
• Spirited performance
• Playful involvement
• High efficiency
• High productivity
• Shared leadership
• Growth from within
• Elimination of barriers to doing a job quickly with excellence and pride

Almost any issue including strategic direction setting, envisioning the future, identifying the issues and opportunities to realize the desired future, conflict resolution, morale building, consultation with stakeholders, community planning, collaboration and learning about issues and perspectives.

When is Open Space Technology the best meeting format to use?

Any situation in which there is:

• A real issue of concern
• Diversity of players
• Complexity of elements
• Presence of passion (conflict is an element of passion)
• A need for a quick decision.

Deliverables of an Open Space Technology Meeting

Open Space Technology meetings result in the following deliverables:

• Every single issue that anybody cares about enough to raise will be “on the table”.
• All issues will receive as much discussion as people care to give them.
• All discussion will be captured in a book, and made available to the participants.
• All issues will be prioritized.
• Related issues will be converged.
• Responsibility will be taken for next step actions.

Process of an Open Space Meeting

Open Space operates under four principles and one law.  The four principles are:

1. Whoever comes are the right people
2. Whatever happens is the only thing that could have happened.
3. When it starts is the right time
4. When it's over it's over

The Law is known as the Law of Two Feet:

"If you find yourself in a situation where you are not contributing or learning, move somewhere where you can."

The four principles and the law work to create a powerful event motivated by the passion and bounded by the responsibility of the participants.  The goal of an Open Space meeting is to create time and space for people to engage deeply and creatively around issues of concern to them.  The agenda is set by people with the power and desire to see it through, and typically, Open Space meetings result in transformative experiences for the individuals and groups involved.

A meeting room prepared for Open Space has a circle of chairs in the middle, letters or numbers around the room to indicate meeting locations, a blank wall that will become the agenda and a news wall for recording and posting the results of the dialogue sessions.

Essentially an Open Space meeting proceeds along the following process:

1.    Group convenes in a circle and is welcomed by the sponsor.  The facilitator provides and over view of the process   and explains how it works.

2.    Facilitator invites people with issues of concern to come into the circle, write the issue on a piece of quarter size flip chart paper and announce it to the group.  These people are “conveners.”

3.     The convener places their paper on the wall and chooses a time and a place to meet.  This process continues until there are no more agenda items.

4.     The group then breaks up and heads to the agenda wall, by now covered with a variety of sessions.  Participants take note of the time and place for sessions they want to be involved in.

5.     Dialogue sessions convene for the balance of the meeting.  Recorders determined by each group capture the important points and post the reports on the news wall.  All of these reports will be rolled into one document by the end of the meeting.

6.     Following a closing or a break, the group moves into convergence, a process that takes the issues that have been discussed and attaches action plans to them to “get them out of the room.”

7.     The group then finishes the meeting with a closing circle where people are invited to share comments, insights, and commitments arising from the process.
 

What exactly is the facilitator doing?

In an Open Space Technology meeting, the facilitator plays a very different role than in most other meeting process.  The role of the facilitator is best described as follows:

"It may seem that the Open Space facilitator hasn't much to do after the opening session. In terms of the usual role of scheduling and controlling activities associated with “facilitation,” this is certainly true. On the other hand, the facilitator's real role is to “hold the space”: allowing the process to develop and intervening only if anyone is interfering with others’ rights to choice by dominating or insisting that everyone must go along with his or her ideas. The facilitator also must understand systems and large group dynamics at a fairly sophisticated level. Not taking action can be just as important an act in holding the space as doing something...In other words, the technology is straightforward and it is possible to set up and structure an Open Space by reading Harrison Owen’s book [Open Space Technology: A User's Guide]. What happens in Open Space, however, is always new and unpredictable. Therefore, figuring out how to hold the space is not always either simple or easy."

                                        --     Billie Alban and Barbara Bunker Large Group Interventions, Jossey-Bass, 1997

The power of an Open Space meeting lies in the way participants act out of both passion and responsibility.  It is the facilitator's role to keep the space open for the creative interaction that results.

In addition to facilitating the meeting, I always provide clients with one pre-meeting to determine the theme and the "givens" of the event and a debriefing, to help understand what has happened and what the organization or community leadership needs to do as a result.

Where have you used Open Space Technology?

I have used Open Space Technology for the following clients.  The links will take you to stories of these events.

• The British Columbia Ministry of the Attorney General, Victim Services Division on making a new vision of victims services a reality with stakeholders.
• Department of Indian Affairs and Tale’awtxw Corporation on Economic Development opportunities for First Nations.
• The Federal Treaty Negotiation Office on links between the Gathering Strength initiative and the BC Treaty Process.
• Urban Aboriginal Multipurpose Youth Centres Advisory Committee in Vancouver on developing youth empowered solutions.
• The Vancouver Urban Aboriginal Steering Committee and the Pacific Council of Senior Federal Officials on Improving the Lives of Aboriginal People in the Vancouver Area.
• University of British Columbia School of Health Sciences on creating a new college of Health and Human Services.
• Parks Canada, Western Canada Service Centre Staff on how to move from a government department to an agency.
• Research, Planning and Analysis unit of the Federal Treaty Negotiation Office on strategic planning.
• Urban Aboriginal Multipurpose Youth Centres Advisory Committees in BC and Alberta training 40 Aboriginal youth in Open Space Technology and conducting ongoing Open Space meetings for their work.
• Cheam First Nation on how to assert Aboriginal rights and title now and in the future.   Also worked in Open Space with the Land Rights and Title Committee and the Chief and Council on establishing better working relationships.
• Northwest Aboriginal Health Council in Terrace B.C. on developing their contribution to the Northwest Regional Health Board Plan.
• The British Columbia Association of Aboriginal Friendship Centres on issues of Friendship Centres and Self-Government in B.C.
• The Lower Mainland Treaty Advisory Committee and the Tsleil-Waututh Nation on creating relationships between First Nations and local governments in the Vancouver area.
• Vancouver Aboriginal Child and Family Services on exploring ideas for improved Aboriginal child and familiy services in Vancouver.